Sci-Fi Song #7: Merithyn's Promise

Merithyn's Promise.mp3

Sci-Fi Song #7 is a solo acoustic guitar piece played in the DADGAD tuning and was inspired by Elizabeth Haydon's Requiem For The Sun.

My initial interest in fantasy literature was fueled by the experience of reading Elizabeth Haydon's original Rhapsody trilogy. I vividly remember ordering the first book from Amazon when I discovered that the main character was a musician. For me, this trilogy functioned as a gateway to the works of Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, and Tad Williams. Here are a few links to a series of excellent reviews of the first three Rhapsody books at Dragons, Heroes, and Wizards.

1. Rhapsody: Child of Blood
2. Prophecy: Child of Earth
3. Destiny: Child of Sky

Merithyn is a character of great importance to the history and backstory of the Symphony of Ages series. Merithyn's Promise refers to the oath that the sailor Merithyn made to his lover, Elynsynos, swearing that he would return to her from his long voyage at sea.

Hope you enjoy it,
John

Sci-Fi Song #4: The Return of Titus Quinn

The Return of Titus Quinn.mp3

This week's song was inspired by the protagonist from Kay Kenyon's excellent Bright of the Sky. The Return of Titus Quinn is a solo acoustic guitar piece played in the DADGAD alternate tuning.

In the novel, Titus Quinn takes on the identity of Dai Shen, a Chalin man. The Chalin are a race of people that bear a strong cultural resemblance to earth's Asian population. I tried to interpret this by taking my initial "Titus" theme of the A section and transposing it into the Chinese pentatonic scale of the B section.

This piece is a bit of a departure for me. Many of my formative influences (Steve Morse, Alex Lifeson, Steve Howe, Leo Kottke, John Fahey, and Michael Hedges) have recorded numerous solo acoustic guitar pieces. As much as I love this style, I've never given a serious attempt to compose and record one of my own. I had great fun putting this together, and I hope you like it.

Has a novel ever inspired you to write a piece of music? Has a song ever inspired you to compose a novel, short story, or piece of visual art?

-John

More info on Bright of the Sky

1. Kay Kenyon's website
2. Pat's Fantasy Hot List
3. Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
4. Fantasy and Sci-Fi Lovin' Book Reviews